A Christmas Carol
by Monkey Princess Dead Author
Summary: Merry Christmas to you, May all your wishes come true. You didn't pay your taxes last year, Tomorrow, they're due.


A Christmas Carol  
  
By Princess of the Monkeys  
  
December 18, 2002-December 20, 2002  
  
~*~  
  
Snow, snow was all around, dancing in the sky, collecting on the windows, and forming ice on the roads. The sky was filled with stormy clouds on that Christmas Eve day.  
  
Everyone was running around in an insane bliss. Minds filled with nothing except getting the last of their last Christmas gifts, and getting a large roast for dinner the next day. Everyone, except one person.  
  
~*~  
  
Vegeta was a cold-hearted man, so everyone said at least. He said more than once in this holiday season of giving, "Christmas is for fools." No one wanted to even say hello to him, often at least.  
  
But there was one man, a young man, not too much younger than he, who worked with him. They talked, every so often, but never did Vegeta wish him a happy holiday. And when the man, Goku Son, said it to he, he became angry, and said, "Bah-hum-bug!"  
  
Goku was a nice man, a very forgiving man at that, who worked hard for the money he earned. He was honest, and had a large busy family, which he barely had the money to support. Whereas Vegeta was very rich. Goku needed a raise badly, but never bothered to ask for one. His oldest son, old enough to work, had no job, and could be doing the family good help in working.  
  
But Vegeta didn't care at all. In fact, he FIRED Goku that very evening, on Christmas Eve.  
  
~*~  
  
"Night, sir." Said the youthful, strong man, Goku, as he headed out from his work that evening. "Have a Merry Christmas, and I'll see you the day after."  
  
Vegeta, sitting behind his large desk, merely nodded his statement off, having a great deal on his mind.  
  
"Uh. Vegeta," Goku said shyly. "I was wondering if I could speak to you about my pay."  
  
Vegeta looked up, a frown on his face. "What of it?" he asked angrily.  
  
"Well it's Christmas time, time of giving and sharing. and I was wondering if I could have a raise. Just a small one, but a raise none the less." He laughed nervously under the gaze of Vegeta, oh and it was a cold hard gaze!  
  
"A raise?" Vegeta repeated.  
  
"Yes sir, a raise. I wanted to buy a roast for my family. For dinner tomorrow, but I haven't much money to spare, for the large one we want."  
  
"This is rather important sounding to you, I see." Vegeta started. "No."  
  
"What was that sir?"  
  
"No raise." Vegeta said as he began his work again.  
  
"But sir!" Goku began.  
  
"No! And you're fired."  
  
"Sir! On Christmas Eve? Have you no heart at all?"  
  
"Christmas, bah-hum-bug! All who celebrate Christmas are fools! Now leave!" He commanded, as he waved his quill around, spots of ink splattering on his papers.  
  
Goku, in a state of shock, left the building at once, to go home and get the roast.  
  
~*~  
  
Now, you maybe hoping Vegeta gets what's coming to him, and soon, for firing good ol' Goku on Christmas Eve. But no, sorry, he's not going to be eaten alive by rabbits or zebras, or anything for that matter. Now, now! No need to leave! I didn't say he wasn't going to get something for this cruel act, did I? No, so sit back down and let me finish the tale.  
  
~*~  
  
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town, all the shoppers were done shopping, there wasn't a single light on in town. But down the street walked an old Christmas bum, who hated Christmas and thought it was no fun. He walked to his home, a lamp in his hands, and jangled his keys, till he found the one. He reached for the doorknob, but pulled back his hand, there in the doorknob was his dead friend's face! He shook his head, taken aback, and looked at the knob, to see again this face. But gone it was, he saw nothing at all.  
  
He opened the door, and walked to his room, changed out of his clothes, and walked into the store. In the storage he found some bread and looked for some milk, but he found no milk, and he left the store. After he finished, he sat to rest. But as the clock struck 9 he knew he must rest. He walked to his room, in a tired sleep walk, and opened his door.  
  
~*~  
  
Clu: OK, enough trying to rhyming, it's not working!  
  
Sorry.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
He opened his door and climbed into bed. He closed the curtain around him, on his bed. But suddenly, he heard a tapping "as if someone gently rapping, rapping at his chamber door. "'Tis some late visitor," he muttered. "Seeking entrance, at my chamber door."*"  
  
He walked to his door, and opened it, but no one was there. He muttered something about rats to himself as he climbed into bed again. But again, he heard tapping, it was more distinct now, and he thought for a brief moment, it sounded like a heavy chain, scrapping along his wooden floor in thr room next to his. He pulled the curtains away from the bed. A glowing aura seemed to appear in the room. And an old, withered man stood before him, a long chain attached to his lifeless wrists.  
  
"Vegeta." a deep voice called. "Do you know who I am?"  
  
Vegeta nodded, his face now pale. "N-N-Nappa?"  
  
"Yes Vegeta," replied the glowing bald man.  
  
"But-but you died many, many years ago!"  
  
"Yes Vegeta, and I have come to warn you."  
  
"Warn me of what?" he asked, a bit shaken.  
  
"Of the chain on your wrists, how long it has become, and how your chain will be like mine, unless you change." The ghost of Nappa pointed to Vegeta's wrists.  
  
Vegeta looked, but saw nothing. "I see no chain."  
  
"Because you have the eyes of the living." Nappa quickly changed the subject, as to not confuse Vegeta. "I have come to warn you, and to save you from yourself." He waited for Vegeta to butt in, but he didn't so he continued. "Three ghosts will visit you tonight. The first when the clock strikes One, the second when the clock strikes Two, and the third when the clock strikes Three. This is the only way to save yourself."  
  
"Well couldn't I just take them all at once and be done with them?" Vegeta asked upset. "I need my rest, and I promise you I'll change!"  
  
"No," said Nappa. "The first when the clock strikes-"  
  
"One, yes, yes, I know."  
  
And with that Nappa disappeared.  
  
Vegeta, a bit shocked and hit by disbelief, climbed back into bed and fell asleep.  
  
~*~  
  
DUN.  
  
Vegeta slept heavily, but when the clock struck one, a thin woman appeared.  
  
She had long silver hair, tied up in two buns atop her head, with long strands coming out, hanging down to her knees. She had bright blue eyes, and wore a pure white gown, that seemed to sparkle. Light seemed to come from her, and if you could touch her skin, you would be warm, and feel relaxed.  
  
She stood still for a moment, then she seemed to fill herself in by closing her eyes, and it appeared as though now, she were a normal human.  
  
She walked over to him, and gently cooed into his ear, "Vegeta, it's time to wake up."  
  
He opened his tired eyes and sighed when he saw it was the first ghost. "You're here already? It can't possibly be one yet!"  
  
She nodded and helped him out of the bed.  
  
"It's one o'clock, the bell just sounded."  
  
"So which one are you?" Vegeta asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.  
  
"I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. I will show you things from your past. Are you ready?"  
  
Vegeta nodded, "But first, do you have a name by which I can call you other than "The Ghost of Christmas Past"?"  
  
The ghost nodded, "I am also called Queen Serenity I. But just call my Serenity."  
  
Vegeta nodded, "And how are you going to be taking me about?"  
  
"We shall fly of course!" She said with a smile. She placed her hand in his and then took him to the window, and flew out, carrying him, and helping him fly beside her.  
  
~*~  
  
Young boys were riding past in a little buggy, driven by horses, three of them.  
  
They were waving good bye to two boys who were standing in front of a large, fancy school, covered in white snow, and icicles.  
  
When the other boys had left, the two in front of the school were left alone, with no one but the few boys who were going to be picked up by their parents, instead of driven.  
  
"I heard you're parents aren't coming." Said the first boy who had on a heavy over coat, and a woolen hat to keep his shaven head warm.  
  
"That's right," said the second boy with wild, unruly black hair. "They said it would do me good to stay here and study, instead of go home and be joy, and fatten up."  
  
The boy nodded, "Your parents sure are an odd bunch. My mum was so excited when she found out school was going to be out soon, she almost pulled me out early."  
  
The second boy merely nodded, "You're rides here, go home." And with that he turned and walked back inside the school.  
  
~*~  
  
"Do you remember this place?" Serenity asked Vegeta as they walked through the snow, they're feet leaving no marks."  
  
"Yes, yes I do!" Vegeta said. "It was my school as a child, an all boys school."  
  
"Is that you?" Serenity asked as she gestured towards the classroom window. They looked in and saw the boy with wild black hair.  
  
"Why yes it is!" Vegeta exclaimed, quite surprised to see himself. "This was the Christmas, my parents told me to stay at the school! But my sister, oh my dear sister came and took me out of here!"  
  
Just then a buggy pulled by one horse pulled up, and a young girl popped out. "Rei!" whispered Vegeta hoarsely.  
  
The young girl with long raven hair ran to the door and ran in. "Vegeta!" she cried excitedly. "Come home with me! Father has changed his mind! He wants you to come home!"  
  
The young Vegeta smiled, grabbed his things, and ran off with his sister.  
  
"So how was that Christmas?" Serenity asked, as she once again grabbed his hand.  
  
"It was one of the best Christmas's ever!" he said with a smile. "My sister was so happy I was home, and my father and mother brought me home and never sent me back to that school again!"  
  
Serenity smiled. "You're sister loved you so much. let's go to the next Christmas we'll visit."  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Two young men stood in the front of a building, the lights from inside poured onto the street, covered in snow. The men were wrapped well, in wonderful coats and scarfs. They were talking of what they were planning on doing once they stepped inside.  
  
One man had wild black hair, and the other had well kept black hair.  
  
"I want to ask her." Said the man with wild hair. "I want to ask her tonight."  
  
The other man shook his head. "I don't know how well of an idea it is. She's a tough girl to get. And asking her at the Christmas Party? You'd better have it well planned."  
  
He nodded, "I do. And she will say yes."  
  
The other man smiled for his friend. "Let's hope." He pushed his pony tail to his back and opened the door. "Hello all!" He said as the entered the home.  
  
~*~  
  
Serenity and Vegeta appeared near a window, where a young couple was kissing, they walked away from that, Serenity giggling.  
  
A younger, more youthful version of Vegeta appeared in front of them, he was talking to a young lady with a dark blue dress on, with aqua hair.  
  
"Who is she?" asked Serenity as the young Vegeta whispered something in her ear.  
  
"Bulma," he said with a sigh. "She was my boss's daughter, she was so beautiful."  
  
"What happened to her?" Serenity started to ask, but her question was answered by the look on his face. The woman had clearly died, just like his sister.  
  
The young Bulma giggled and left with him.  
  
"How did it happen?" Serenity asked quietly.  
  
"She was sick, she was only 18 when it happened. It was a few months after Christmas when she began to get sick, then a few months later she died."  
  
Serenity bit her lip. "I think that's enough." She took his hand and they were off again.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Silently, he slept.  
  
DUN. DUN.  
  
The clock sounded twice, and a large figure appeared in his dinning hall, a large feast surrounding him.  
  
Vegeta's eyes then flew open, he heard a low thump, thump, thump of someone large moving in his dinning hall. He opened the door and walked out, slowly. Carefully, he opened the door slightly.  
  
There in his dinning hall was the biggest, most delicious looking feast in the world! There was a large giant in the middle of it all. He wore a long red coat, and had a long black beard. "Ah, hello there Vegeta." He said with a smile. "Don't be shy, come on in."  
  
"Who are you?" Vegeta asked, trying to make sense of the large man in his dinning hall.  
  
"I am the Ghost of the Christmas Present." He said with a smile, "But you can call King of the Ox. If that's any better."  
  
Vegeta gave the King of the Ox a blank stare. "So what are you going to show me?"  
  
"Oh! Yes, yes! I almost forgot all about that! I can eat later!" And with that all his food disappeared. "Let me take you to the first place." And with that a large gust of wind blew around them.  
  
~*~  
  
When the wind finally stopped, they were standing near the window of an old, broken down home. "What are we doing here?" asked Vegeta impatiently.  
  
"We're going to see Goku and his family."  
  
Suddenly a dark feeling rose up within Vegeta, guilt.  
  
~*~  
  
Goku walked into the kitchen and kissed his wife on the cheek with his frozen lips. "Hello, ChiChi, look at the wonderful roast I brought for you!"  
  
ChiChi smiled, "It's wonderful!" Suddenly 5 or 6 children ran into the room, one limping.  
  
"Father, da! What did you bring us?"  
  
The smallest girl, Rini, ran up to her father. "Can we look?" Goku nodded happily, as the little hands pulled around the paper.  
  
"A ROAST!" Cried a little boy, who looked like an exact clone of Goku, except for his small, fragile frame and the cane he used to walk. "It's wonderful!"  
  
~*~  
  
Sorry to interupt, but now there's something really missing here!  
  
TINY TIM!  
  
Yes lassies and lads, we had to make Goten him, and no, I won't be calling him, "Tiny Goten." That's so gay.  
  
Continue!  
  
~*~  
  
The big giant standing with Vegeta smiled slightly, and waved a giant horn around the window, now everything was bright and happy, the snow that had been falling stopped, and the whole family had gathered around their Christmas table.  
  
Vegeta noticed something, that he hadn't noticed before, and that was how small, and pale looking Goten was beginning to look. "King Ox," he started. "Is Goten well?"  
  
King of the Ox shook his head. "He is not, but his parents can't afford to give him the health treatment he needs, and now Goku doesn't even have a job."  
  
Vegeta's eyes dropped. "How much longer does the boy have?"  
  
King Ox sighed. "This will be his last Christmas, unless he gets help."  
  
Vegeta nodded. "So there is hope for the boy."  
  
"Yes, let's go now, we've seen enough."  
  
~*~  
  
DUN. DUN. DUN.  
  
A long pale finger slide down Vegeta's cheek, he jumped awake.  
  
Before him stood a slightly shorter than he cloaked figure. The only thing that could be seen of this person was it's horrible purple eyes that shown brightly out from under the hood.  
  
"Who. who are you?"  
  
"It's time to go." Said a young voice from under the hood. "Come."  
  
"Please, who are you?"  
  
"I am the Ghost of the Christmas Yet to Come." she stated quickly. "I am Mistress of the Silence."  
  
"Oh," Vegeta said, his voice squeaked.  
  
A black mist formed around them, and they disappeared.  
  
~*~  
  
Three men were standing in front of an old building that had been ignored for months. There was a heavy snow fall in this scene. The streets were empty, even though it was Christmas Eve, and everyone still had a bit of shopping.  
  
But there were still these three men in front of the building, talking among themselves.  
  
"He died in his sleep they say."  
  
"Do you know who he left his money to?"  
  
"All I know is that he didn't leave it to me, and I'm his nephew!"  
  
The two other men laughed. "Too bad, eh?"  
  
"Sure is, a man could do good with that kind of money. That poor old man, never using the goods he had, he just let it rot away forever."  
  
"Do you know if he's having a service?"  
  
"No, I don't, but he's my uncle, I think we should give him a small one."  
  
"I'll go if there's food after."  
  
"I'll go if you both go."  
  
"Good, then we can make a small service, and we can take a fund for the Son's, and they're horrible loss."  
  
They all nodded.  
  
~*~  
  
"What was all that about?" Vegeta asked the girl in the hood.  
  
Again, the black mist formed around them and the disappeared.  
  
~*~  
  
This time they appeared in the Son's house. ChiChi Son was sitting in a large, beaten up chair, sewing up a hole in Rini's skirt. "When will daddy be home?" she asked.  
  
The oldest son, Gohan sat on the floor holding one of the smaller children. "He's on his way home from work."  
  
"Normally he's home a lot sooner than this!" Rini shouted at her brother. "Where is he?"  
  
ChiChi sighed, "Rini, you know your father has been coming home a lot slower these past few weeks."  
  
Rini's blue eyes dropped to the ground. "Yes, mum."  
  
There was a little knock at the door, and Goku walked in. Everyone smiled and helped him closer to the fire.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"Poor, poor boy." Vegeta said quietly. "So young."  
  
"Spirit," he asked. "Will you tell me who that man was, from before, who those men were talking about."  
  
Again, mist came and they were gone.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
There was a black stone, he moved his hands along it slowly, VEGETA VEJJITA. "no," he whispered.  
  
"Spirit, tell me, is this the future that has to be, or is it the future that can be changed? Please spirit!"  
  
The girl's purple eyes burned brightly, her pale hand reached out for him, and she pushed him into the deep, dark hole, near the head stone.  
  
~*~  
  
His eyes shot open.  
  
DUN. DUN. DUN. DUN. DUN. DUN. DUN.  
  
Quickly, he ran to his windows and threw open the shutters, and spotted a little boy.  
  
"Little boy, what day is it?"  
  
"Why it's Christmas!" shouted the little boy as he ran and slipped on a slick in the snow.  
  
Vegeta smiled, perfect.  
  
He threw some money out the window to the boy, go bye a roast for dinner tonight! Keep the change!"  
  
". well. thanks sir." Said the little boy as he wandered off.  
  
He quickly got dressed and ran onto the streets.  
  
"Happy Christmas!" He said over and over again, with occational "Hellos" thrown in.  
  
He ran to the Son's house, stopping to slide on a few slicks along the way. When he got there he shouted out to Goku he was going to get a raise, and that Gohan too, could have a job. The family was overjoyed, but then, Vegeta handed them a large roast, and food, by the load, they all nearly died of shock.  
  
ChiChi pulled Goku over to the side. "Is he doing well?"  
  
Goku nodded happily. "I think he is!"  
  
Then, Vegeta pulled out a large bag, Goten and Rini quickly unwrapped it. Music began to play, and little horses moved up and down in turn. He had given them a beautiful carousel. "Happy Christmas to you all!" He said as he left, a great sense of relief in him.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
So in the end, all was well. But then again, what can you ever expect from a Christmas story? Vegeta saved himself, and Goten as well, by changing his ways, and he became and all around happier man.  
  
Oh, did I mention, they all lived happily ever after.  
  
~*~ 


End file.
